A few months have passed and I'm not much better of than when I started... fitness wise.
Luckily my attitude has changed so I don't trudge about being depressed about the fact that a few flights of stairs make me winded. Maybe this is something everyone goes through after quitting competitive sports... a move to non-competitive sports and recreational fitness.
I have a new found respect for people who have never played sports, have never been forced to workout through practices or fitness sessions, and still keep active. For all those runners who just do it because they like to, or all those people who lift weights and go to spinning classes just to feel good, I salute you. Because it's hard motivating yourself to get active if no one is there to light a fire under your ass to do it.
I'm slowly working on becoming one of those people. I never thought I would want to BE like any of those athletes, the ones who aren't so great but love what they do and keep trying hard. Something in me always assumed I was above them, when in reality, they had more drive than I did within themselves, I just had a network pushing me and pushing me for years. I need to take those principles I learned from being on teams and working with a coaching and training staff and instill them within myself. I need to not see fitness as a chore or something I have to do, but as something I want to do because it's fun.
That being said, I might not become a distance runner. I still hate jogging. It's boring, and long, and I don't feel like I get much out of it.
But I'll join teams and go to classes and workout with friends. I'll build my own network of "training staff" around me to help keep me focused and not let me skid too far off the tracks before it's too late to get back on.
Thursday, July 15, 2010
Why Twitter is the best for businesses
Despite my failure in looking on Twitter for workout buddies, it has emerged as one of the best business tools of all the social media outlets (including for those in the fitness industry). I think it is the most versatile medium and the one that allows for the proper balance of personal versus business communicating. Twitter trumps other social media outlets in the business world because:
• It can be used both for fans of your company, but also in a more interesting way through prominent people in the company.
• It is helpful for human resources.
• It has the capacity for both external and internal communications.
• It is good for companies who want to listen rather than just participate.
One of the best features of twitter is that consumers can get a more personal feel for what your business or organization is all about by following prominent people within the company. This way they feel they are not just getting generic messages about products or initiatives, but are truly connecting with the people that make your organization what it is.
Additionally, it is helpful to human resources and the hiring process. If you are looking for a candidate that has already shown an interest in your organization, and who is social media savvy, you can post a job via a tweet. This way, you will reach only those candidates who have what you are looking for in a new employee.
Because twitter can both be public and private (protected tweets) it can serve for both internal and external communications. For internal communications, tweets can be protected and only accessed by employees. It is a good and immediate way to get information out to a large group of people very quickly.
Many companies are more listeners on twitter rather than tweeters. There are many different ways a company can keep track of what is being said about them, through various search tools or applications like TweetDeck. This is a good way to get an early warning of conversations that consumers are having, including product deficiencies, or even to find out what consumers are looking for from the company that they don’t already offer.
What really made me realize how important Twitter is becoming was the day of the earthquake. The first place we looked online to see what had happened was not a news website but Twitter, and we were immediately shown results that confirmed what we thought. I think it is the best emerging social media tool because it is such a great mix of news with personal, internal communications. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to learn about its benefits.
• It can be used both for fans of your company, but also in a more interesting way through prominent people in the company.
• It is helpful for human resources.
• It has the capacity for both external and internal communications.
• It is good for companies who want to listen rather than just participate.
One of the best features of twitter is that consumers can get a more personal feel for what your business or organization is all about by following prominent people within the company. This way they feel they are not just getting generic messages about products or initiatives, but are truly connecting with the people that make your organization what it is.
Additionally, it is helpful to human resources and the hiring process. If you are looking for a candidate that has already shown an interest in your organization, and who is social media savvy, you can post a job via a tweet. This way, you will reach only those candidates who have what you are looking for in a new employee.
Because twitter can both be public and private (protected tweets) it can serve for both internal and external communications. For internal communications, tweets can be protected and only accessed by employees. It is a good and immediate way to get information out to a large group of people very quickly.
Many companies are more listeners on twitter rather than tweeters. There are many different ways a company can keep track of what is being said about them, through various search tools or applications like TweetDeck. This is a good way to get an early warning of conversations that consumers are having, including product deficiencies, or even to find out what consumers are looking for from the company that they don’t already offer.
What really made me realize how important Twitter is becoming was the day of the earthquake. The first place we looked online to see what had happened was not a news website but Twitter, and we were immediately shown results that confirmed what we thought. I think it is the best emerging social media tool because it is such a great mix of news with personal, internal communications. I’m glad to have had the opportunity to learn about its benefits.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
Comotivate FAIL
My COMOTIVATE.COM experiment has officially failed. No one would accept my friend requests or join my “weight loss team.” I got completely rejected! So, fine, I’ll look to other social media outlets for some inspiration.
First, to twitter. Searching for #fat produced some hilarious results. The best ones?
• “Dear god, if I can’t be skinny, please let all my friends be #fat.”
• “#Fat girls in leggings, #NotMyThing.”
• “Poutine, so worth being #fat for.”
Okay, so not the most serious tweets. How about #fitness?
• “Fat fitness instructors are brutal, not motivated to look like you!#fitness#weightloss”
• “Workin’ out be for #virgins #fitness.” . . . ?
No luck. One thing I have found useful about social media is reviews of gyms and fitness programs. Chat rooms are full of “Extreme Fitness ripped me off” and “The Turbo Jam program really works!” The two pics below are from BlogTO’s article about Extreme fitness. The second photo is all the comments on the gym, there are 419 comments!
Google any fitness product and many of the top results will be answers generated by consumers of their personal opinion of the product, and they are quite useful. They will let you know which gyms have smelly yoga rooms, and which brand of medicine balls are cheapest.
First, to twitter. Searching for #fat produced some hilarious results. The best ones?
• “Dear god, if I can’t be skinny, please let all my friends be #fat.”
• “#Fat girls in leggings, #NotMyThing.”
• “Poutine, so worth being #fat for.”
Okay, so not the most serious tweets. How about #fitness?
• “Fat fitness instructors are brutal, not motivated to look like you!#fitness#weightloss”
• “Workin’ out be for #virgins #fitness.” . . . ?
No luck. One thing I have found useful about social media is reviews of gyms and fitness programs. Chat rooms are full of “Extreme Fitness ripped me off” and “The Turbo Jam program really works!” The two pics below are from BlogTO’s article about Extreme fitness. The second photo is all the comments on the gym, there are 419 comments!
Google any fitness product and many of the top results will be answers generated by consumers of their personal opinion of the product, and they are quite useful. They will let you know which gyms have smelly yoga rooms, and which brand of medicine balls are cheapest.
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